The Turtle Conservancy continues to assist the US Fish and Wildlife Service in triage management of confiscated turtles and tortoises from the illegal wildlife trade. In total, the Turtle Conservancy has taken in over 100 animals in 2018. The majority of which are U.S. species being exported to Asia…

What can you do, you ask? Vote. VOTE. VOTE. VOTE!! The midterm elections on November 6 offer all Americans a chance to shape our (and the turtles’) future for the better. If you believe that climate change is real, if you don't like wildlife poaching, if you don't want to see even more endangered turtles and other wildlife go extinct, you can vote for candidates who share your values. Vote! The turtles are counting on you...

The Okinawa Leaf Turtle is a cryptic species, with a highly colorful red to yellow pattern. This turtle has been highly desired by collectors, but at the same time scientist didn’t know a lot about this animal…

Please support our efforts in conjunction with Paso Pacifico in the construction of two new hatcheries in Nicaragua to protect nests from poachers and predators. Help us reach our goal of $8,000 by October 1st!

Along with interfering in American elections, the Russians have now established themselves at the Turtle Conservancy–Russian tortoises, that is. Ten of the tortoises arrived over this summer as homeless rescues, abandoned when their owners tired of them. Our Russians are settling in nicely; they are completely uninterested in computers, so we're not concerned about their hacking into our systems...

As previously reported, 10,976 Critically Endangered Radiated tortoises were discovered in Toliara, a town on the southwestern coast of Madagascar. Authorities received complaints of a disturbing smell of death and excrement coming from a two-story house. Upon inspection, thousands of juvenile tortoises occupied the floors, sinks, and bathtubs. They had no food, no water and were lying in their own waste. Over 500 were already dead…

We need your support! The Turtle Conservancy, Global Wildlife Conservation and Andrew Sabin Family Foundation are currently matching all donations made to help this unprecedented poaching confiscation.

The Ploughshare Tortoise is the most endangered tortoise in the world. With wild populations on the brink of extinction, it has become clear to the conservation community that action must be scaled up substantially if we hope to save this species...

Through the efforts of our partner the Katala Foundation, Inc. (KFI), and with support from Rainforest Trust, Global Wildlife Conservation and Turtle Conservancy, the local government of Mendoza with the support of the municipal government of Roxas, Palawan, designated 1890 acres of forest lands as a Protected Watershed, in effect creating a wildlife protection area which will directly benefit the Critically Endangered Palawan Forest Turtle.

The Turtle Conservancy works alongside the US Fish and Wildlife Service to help facilitate law enforcement and seizures of illegally traded turtles and tortoises. When live turtles and tortoises are confiscated in and around Los Angeles International Airport, the TC offers free accommodations for these homeless travelers, some of whom originate halfway around the world in places like Southeast Asia.

Operation Jungle Book, a law enforcement initiative led by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service that targeted wildlife smuggling, has resulted in federal criminal charges against 16 defendants who allegedly participated in the illegal importation and/or transportation of numerous animal species – including a tiger, monitor lizards, cobras, Asian “lucky” fish, turtles, exotic songbirds and several coral species…

The Turtle Conservancy's director of international conservation programs, Peter Paul van Dijk recently returned from the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The conference was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from September 24th to October 5th.

The Turtle Conservancy recently returned from a three week tour in Indonesia. The team held meetings with conservation groups and animal dealers about ways to help the two endemic species on the island of Sulawesi, the Sulawesi Forest Turtle and the Forsten's Tortoise.

TC director, Eric Goode, sat down with Wildlife Reserves Singapore conservation director, Dr. Sonja Luz, and discussed issues of illegal trade, confiscations of Ploughshare Tortoises in Southeast Asia, and identified species both organizations can team up with and save from extinction.

On April 24th, Turtle Conservancy traveled to Shunde, China to present to the Shunde Turtle Breeder's Association. This turtle expo and conference was host to over 160 different breeding operations and 10,000 visitors...